Listing machine



y 1944- L. P CROSMAN 2,348,789

LISTING MACHINE I Original Filed Nov. 29, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 [Ill/[III II II I III May 16, 1944.

L. P. CROSMAN LISTING MACHINE Original FiledNov. 29, 1941 2 SheetsSheet 2 INVENTQR v Pfnasrpaq T RNEY Patented May 16, 1944 us'rmo mom Luring Pickering Crosman, South Orange, N. 1.,

assignor to Monroe Calculating Machine Company, Orange, N. 1., a corporation of Delaware Original application November 29, 1941, Serial No.

421,015. Divided and this appli cation November 25, 1942, Serial No. 488,935

2 Claims. (Cl. 101-93) The invention has relation to listing machines, and particularly to type aligning mechanism therefor, the present application being a'division of application Serial Number 421,015, filed November 29, 1941, relating to printing mechanism.

The invention consists in the novel construction and combination of parts, as set forth in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, illustrating the invention,

Fig. 1 is a vertical section taken through the keyboard and printing mechanism of a listing addingmachine constructed in accordance with the invention.

Fig. 2 is a right side elevation of the machine, with casing removed. showing the operating and printing mechanisms.

The invention is shown as applied to a motor operated machine corresponding to a disclosure of United States Patent No. 1,932,013, issued to Loring P. Crosman on October 24, 1933, and entitled H/egister, as modified in an application for patent of the present inventor, Serial Number 421,016, filed November 29, 1941.

Motor operation of the machine is initiated by imparting a rocking movement to clutch control lever I06 (Fig. 2) said lever being provided with an insulation roller I09 operable to close the contacts of a switch interposed in the circuit of an electric motor I00 (Fig. l). Rocking movement of lever I00 will also move the bottom end of said lever out of contact with a spring actuated pawl I03, mounted upon a plate I and forming the driven member of a clutch. Upo release, pawl I03 will be moved into contact with the driving member I04 of the clutch, having direct driving connection with the motor I00.

Plate I05 is connected by link I08 with an arm IIB fast upon a rock shaft "I, a cam Ill being also fixed upon said shaft and serving to impart reciprocatory motion to a frame SIS, mounted upon a transverse shaft 608. Threearr'ned differential actuator levers M0 are loosely mounted upon shaft 000 and are normally coupled to frame GIG by means of a series of spring pawls 6". The forward arm of each differential actuator lever BIII is provided with segmental rack teeth, adapted to mesh with the pinions "I of a series of accumulator wheels "3. Indexibars SIS are pivotally connected with the upper arms of levers Ml, these index bars being moved, upon counter-clockwise rotation of the levers, Into engagement with the stems of selectively depressed keys 2. Type bars iii are pivotally connected to the rearward arms of levers N0, each type bar being provided with a longitudinally disposed series of type representing the digits 0 and 1 to 9.

In additive accumulation, amounts having been set up on the digit keys Ill, and motor operation initiated, the pinion 012 will first be disengaged from the actuator racks, and thereafter the rocks its movement.

will be moved counter-clockwise so that in a column in which the 7 key (for instance) has been depressed the actuator will be allowed a degree of 'movement suflicient to bring the numeral type 7 opposite the printing line of the platen 80L As each actuator lever lsstopped by engagement of its index bar 8|! with the key stem, the related pawl ill will be lowered out of contact with the actuaton'frame "I8 con tlnuing counter-clockwise to the full extent of Printing will now be effected, as hereinafter described, the pinions "I brought into mesh with the actuator racks, and the frame SIB moved clockwise, the pawls BI! picking up the actuators during this movement and returning them to the normal position illustrated in Fig. i. L

In total taking operations; the motor operation of the machine is suspended before the actuator racks 0I0'have been'moved, and the accumulator wheels 0'" are rotated to zero, the pinions 412 being in mesh with the actuator racks. This is effected by releasing all of the column latches 2H and by r'otation of a shaft 001 (Fig. 1) having a series of pins adapted to adjust a series of stops SIS individually into the p ths of movement of zero stops ofthe aocumulator wheels. The pins of shaft 001' also operate to move the pawls 6I'I, releasing the differential actuators 6i 0 individually, for operation by their springs 083. The pins of shaft operate successively, from right to left of the machine. The released lever 8I'0 will rotate'the accumulator wheels Him a subtractive direction (clockwise as viewed in Fig. 1) to zero, this action serving to displace the type bars IiII to a position in which the amount subtracted from the accumulator will be set on the printing line. Thereafter, motor operating being resumed, frame 0| will be rotated counter-clockwise; printing will be effected; the accumulator pinions I12 disengaged from the racks, and frame BIG rotated clockwise,-picking up the actuators M0 successively, according to'the positions in which they have been stopped by the accumulator wheels, and returning the parts tonormal position. It may be noted that during these totaling operations, none of the keys 2 ll are in depressed position.

The hammers The digit type is solidly set in the type bars lii. and these type bars are normally held in a forward position substantially spaced from the in the machine frame. -.The hammers are. operated by means of a spring ill, and are normally held tensio'ned by means of a bail m. suspended from shaft Ill and connected by a link Ill witharockarm Ill.

Arm Ill is fast upon a shaft ll: upon which isalsofastanarm I21 (Fig.2) havinglinkconnection with the motor driven arm lll. Thus, upon motor operation, and during the counterclockwise rotation of frame lll, shaft ll! will be rocked clockwise, and bail ill moved forwardly, permitting the hammers ill to rotate gradually in-a clockwise direction until the type bars III are forced to a position wherein the type at the printing line will be closely adjacent to the surface of platen lli. Bail Ill will'be held in this position during the printing operation, and will subsequently be returned to restore the hammers to normal position. This will be the entire op eration of any of the hammers Ill located in columns to the left of those wherein keys Ill have been depressed.

Action of the hammers Ill in the active columns will be controlled as follows:

A series of latches Ill (one for each hammer Ill) is provided, the latches being pivotally mounted upon a shaft ill, fixed in the machine framing. and being operated by the spring Ill, which connects the. latches Ill and the hammers Ill, as seen in Fig. 1. Each latch ll! lies beneath a lug ill of the related type bar lll, so that in the normal position of the type bars the latches are held out of engagement with lugs Ill of the hammers; Upon rotation of an actuator lil, however. and type bar lll. the lug Ill of said bar will move away from latch III. which will thereupon rise and engage lug ill oi the hammer. This engagement is timed to occur before any substantial movement of the hammers is allowed by bail Ill.

'Abail ill,supportedfromshaft ill,isprovided with a depending hook I" (Fig. 2), adapted to be engaged near the extreme forward movement of the actuator drive by a lug Ill of arm Ill,

depressing bail ill. against the tension of a spring ill. thereby releasing latches lil from engagement with the hammers ill. Thereupon hammers Ill will be violently operated by their springs ill, .impu'ting sumeient momentum to the type bars lli to insure'the engagement of the type with therecord material supported on platen lll.

In order to eifect "ting of'seros by the type bars to the right of those displaced by the actuators lil, the hammers are provided-with overi; displacement of a fecthasbeensecuredinmachineswhereinthe' typeisslideablymoimtedinthetypebanbutthe resultishereinsecuredinanextreinelysimple mechanism. Thesimplicityofthemechanismis alsoa'pparentinthattheonlypartsindividual to the columns of the printing are thetypebamthehammerathehammerlatches andasingleoperatingspring.

Alignment of the type Precise alignment of the type (forming more particularly the subject matter of the present invention) is secured by means of a t'oothed alignor ward connection with the framing of the malapping lugs Ill (Pig. 1), which will serveto hold a anyhammertotherishtotonesecuredbyits ofthepartsthe'typebarslll lie wellinfront chine by means of a link ill and upward connection by means of toggle linkage ill, Ill. Shaft ll! is normally held in raised position, with the toggle Ill, Ill bowed, by means of a spring Ill (Fig. 2) the upward movement being limited by engagement of a shoulder of toggle link Ill with a leaf spring I", secured uponthe framing of the machine.

The teeth of alignor ill are designed to engage with the toothed or pointed ends of the rearward arm of actuator levers lll, a series of ten tooth shoulders of the alignor Ill being related to each lever lll. The lower shoulder of alignor ill is designed to engage the related actuator when it stands in zero position; the second tooth when it stands in 1 registering pomtion, etc" the highest shoulder of the alignor corresponding to the 9 registering position of the actuator. The shoulders of the alignor will be engaged with and thereafter disengaged from the actuators successively, in the actuator positions running from 0 to 9 and from 9 to 0. In adding operations the engagement will occur immediately after the contact of a related index bar lll with its depressed key, and in all operations the alignor will be disengaged from the actuator immediately before said actuator is picked up by the pawl l" for restoration to normal. This latter action is particularly important in total taking operations, because after the printing has been effected the accumulator is disengaged from the actuator racks and the actuators and type bars would be free to move to their extreme, or 9 registering position under the influence of the springs lll, unless means were provided for checking this action. According to the present invention, this isone ofthefunctions of the alignor Ill,

Pivotal movement of the alignor Ill about shaft ill, to effect the'engagement and disengagement of the actuators, is transmitted by means of a roller Ill (Fig. 2) engaging the cam slot of a plate Ill, pivotally supported from shaft ill and having link connection ill with the upper end of the alignor. Parts Ill, ill, Ill, Ill, Ill, Ill, Ill are provided in duplicate, at the two sides of the alignor. During the first portion of the cycle of motor operation, roller ill will" movealongtheforwardwallofthecsmslotof- I ll iinallyactingupon a'dwell surface of the forwardandcftherearwallsoftheslotofphte lll,durlngwhichtimethe printingoccurs: then 7 ofplaten lli,sothattheprinting linewillbe actinguponacam'surfacewhichwiilefi'ectrearvisible to the operator of the machine. This rward movement of plate in and-rearward pivotal movement of the alignor about shaft I62 to disengage the actuators successively, the final movement of roller I68 .being along a dwell of a slot of plate I69.

In order to effect true alignment of the type without straining any of the parts by contact of the index bars SIS with the key. stems or the contact of stops H3 with the zero stopsfil, in totalizing, downward movement will be imparted to the alignor after all the teeth thereof have been brought into engaging position, this being effected by contact of the upper portion of the alignor with the toggle link I64, the final movement of plate I69 thus serving to straighten the toggle and to depress shaft I82.

Shaft I62 will remain in depressed position during the rearward pivotal movement of the alignor until at the end of such movement the upper end of the alignor will be brought against a tooth III of toggle link I64, to break the toggle I64, 565 and allow spring I66 to return the alignor parts to normal position.

I claim: t

1. In a listing machine having a series of devices dlfierentially displaceable from and to normal position and comprising differential actuators and type bars connected therewith, and reciprocatory operatingmeans acting inits return movement to engage the actuators successively in accordance with the degrees of differential displacement of the individual devices and to return said devices to normal position; a pivotally mounted multiple toothed alignor, and means operable by the operating means to reciprocate said alignor pivotally, to engage selected teeth of the alignor with'the differentially displaced devices'and thereafter to disengage the same suc-' cessively from the individualdevices immediately prior to their engagement by the operating means.

2. In a listing machine having a frame, a series of differentially displaceable devices comprising differential actuators and vertical type bars connected therewith, stops for 'limiting the upward displacement of the type bars, and reciprocatory operating means for said devices; a floating shaft having rearward link connection and upward toggle link connection with said frame; a multiple toothed alignor pivotally mounted upon said shaft, and means operable by the operating means first to move the alignor pivotally to em- I gage selected teeth of the alignor successively with the differently displaced devices and thereafter to straighten the toggle link connection to move the type bars downwardly to aligned position.

LORING PICKERING CROSMAN. 

